Bridgestone's super soft tyre proved to be the fastest rubber on track in Sakhir for the first day of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg's AT&T Williams set the day's fastest lap time in the afternoon practice session held in hot and sunny weather conditions. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton used the medium compound to go fastest in the similar conditions of the morning session.

The 5.41 km Bahrain International Circuit was quite slippery for the first session of the weekend due to sand on the track, as was expected due to the circuit's desert-based location. Today was the first time that a Bridgestone's super soft compound tyre has been used at a grand prix meeting in Bahrain, although three teams have tested with this tyre here in the pre-season testing.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today's running?
"Today we saw very close lap times in the afternoon, with the top thirteen cars separated by a second. The track was very sandy at first this morning and this limits the amount of grip from the circuit. The hot conditions meant the air was not as dense as in pre-season testing here so there was less downforce from the cars. Because of these factors we did see drivers struggle with braking and there were many flat spots on the tyres. However, once the track improved we saw some good evaluation work from the teams and very close lap times set. Both tyres appear to work well and we expect the track to improve further tomorrow."

How do you expect this allocation to work here over the weekend?
"We have good data from our time here in the pre-season testing. We expect that the super soft tyre will be more durable than we have seen previously, whilst providing good lap times too. The medium tyre will take longer to provide its best lap time, but will be very durable. Today the super soft tyre gave its best lap time from its first flying lap and the medium tyre gave its best from its third or fourth flying lap. I think there will be many strategy options for this weekend's race."

Stats of the Day:
Practice One 10:00 - 11:30: 
Driver 					Time 	    Tyre 
Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 	1m 33.647s  M
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team 	1m 33.907s  SS
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team 	1m 33.938s  SS 

Practice Two 14:00 - 15:30
Driver 					Time 	    Tyre
Nico Rosberg AT&T Williams 		1m 33.339s  SS
Fernando Alonso ING Renault F1 Team 	1m 33.530s  SS
Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing 	1m 33.616s  SS

Compounds used: Medium / Super Soft

Temperatures 	 Ambient 	Track 		Weather
PM - Practice 1  33C-35C  	42C-47C 	Sunny
PM - Practice 2  38C-39C-37C 	51C-47C 	Sunny